Worldwide: Representation company HotelREZ Hotels & Resorts has reported growth of more than 20 per cent in 2023, increasing its independent hotel, apartment, and group portfolio to over 2,500.
Last year, HotelREZ expanded into new markets including Australia, South Africa and the UAE.
Onboarded customers include The Social Hub, World Hospitality Solutions, Countrywide Hotels, Ethiopian Airlines Group, Danat Hotels & Resorts and Roomzzz Aparthotels.
On average, HotelREZ has enabled its hotel clients to increase reservations through the booking engine by 31 per cent as well as drive business through the GDS (up 44 per cent) and Direct Connects (up 50 per cent).
Its two soft brands – Best Loved Hotels and World Rainbow Hotels – have seen an increase in reservations by 11 per cent and 22 per cent respectively.
A number of new products in the Web Services portfolio have also been launched in the past year. These include digital advertising for paid ads and metasearch, website design, and tools and widgets for its booking engine to boost conversion.
Daniel Simmons, CCO at HotelREZ, said: “We’re ecstatic to see such phenomenal growth results, we’ve totally exceeded our expectations this past year. Not only are hotels joining us to represent them with third party channels, but they’ve been adopting our Web Services products to drive more direct business – this is a real testament to the investment we’re making in our consultancy team twinned with our technology.
“Independent hotels and accommodation providers recognise the value and benefits of working with an experienced team to better enable their sales and revenue performance. It’s allowing them to focus on the hospitality experience and operations to service their guests without being distracted by the day-to-day need to source business. We live and breathe hotels to produce high-rated revenue from the most suitable target markets at an attractive cost of sale that allow our customers to truly thrive.”
Simmons added: “We are seeing the domestic market remain strong, though strikes and weather will continue to have an impact on consumer booking decisions. For business travel, independent hotels are becoming more popular with agencies, especially aparthotels and pubs with rooms – two key accommodation sectors on the GDS. Furthermore, the GDS stands resilient and continues to grow especially with the increase in SME corporate clients.”
